Tobacco bundling machine



May 30, 1961 G. c. VAUGHAN TOBACCO BUNDLING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Dec. 30, 1957 INVENTOR. 650%: C. VAUGHAN "W W y 30, 1 G. c.VAUGHAN 2,986,145

TOBACCO BUNDLING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.3/ GEORGE C VAUGHAN ATTOR/YEX 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 iied 199.0,. 30, 1957 .NH R4 N 5 m mi m A c F. 6 MM 3 7 7 m w 2 w.

United S a s Patent 2,986,145 TOBACCO BUNDL'ING MACHINE George C.Vaughan, 161 Prospect Bl'vd., Waterloo, Iowa Filed Dec. '30, 1957, Ser.No. 706,026

4 Claims. (Cl. 131-149) This invention relates to a machine for bunchingtobacco leaves and the like, and is particularly directed to asemiautomatic mechanism for conveying tobacco leaves, aligning them attheir butt ends, feeding them to a gatherer, gathering them in compactbundles, and sequentially discharging -the bundles onto a tieing table.7

In present commercial practices tobacco leaves from curing sheds aremanually graded and then manually bunched and tied prior to sale orauction. As a result appreciable time, labor, expense and inconvenienceis encountered in the handling of tobacco leaves afte'r curing and priorto distribution for sale.

It is an object of this invention to provide a semi-auto matic machinefor bundling tobacco leaves preparatory to tieing the bundles. v p

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine for conveyingtobacco leaves and aligning their butt ends.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine for feedingtobacco leaves whose butt ends are aligned into a pocket. I

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a machine having apocket for receiving tobacco leaves therein for compaotingthe leavesinto a bundle.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine having meansfor automatically closing a pocket holding a bundle of leaves thereinwhile the bundle is being moved to a discharging station and forautomatically opening the pocket at that station.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine having a meansfor immobilizing a tobacco leaf conveyor and feeding arrangement whiletobacco leaves previously discharged from the arrangement into a pocketare being moved from a pocket receiving station to a pocket dischargingstation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a machine having aplurality of pockets each adapted to receive and subsequently grasp abundle of tobacco'leaves, and means for sequentially moving eachadjacent pair of said pockets from a first position wherein one pocketis in a leaf receiving position and the adjacent pocket is in anon-receiving position, to a second position wherein the one pocket isin a leaf discharging position and the adjacent pocket is in a leafreceiving position.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a machine forbundling tobacco leaves wherein a plurality of (leaf compacting pocketsare arranged on a rotatable unit synchronized with a feeding unitwhereby the rotatable unit is immobilized with at least one pocket in a'receiving position relative to the feeding unit during operation of thefeeding unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel machine forbundling tobacco leaves preparatory to tieing the bundles which issimple of design; economic of manufacture, and efiicient in operation.

These objects and other features and advantages will become readilyapparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the tobacco bundling machine embodyingthe invention; V

Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, vertically exploded view in side elevation ofelements of a rotatable unit normally mounted in a side-by-side relationand showing their relative positions at one position of the rotatableunit;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the elements in relatedpositions after movement of the unit out of the position of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 55- in Fig. 2,with some parts deleted for the purpose of clarity;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 6--6 in Fig.2, with some parts deleted for the purpose of clarity;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the driving mechanism forthe tobacco bundler machine with some parts broken away for the purposeof clarity; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken longitudinallythrough the clutch unit and transversely of the machine.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a machinefor bundling tobacco leaves, indicated generally at 10, comprises aframe structure 11. on which a conveyor unit 12 is mounted. Tobaccoleaves are placed on the upper right end of the conveyor unit 12, asviewed in Fig. l, and are moved pas-t aleaf aligning structure 13 towarda feeding unit 14. The unit 14 is regulated for controlled movement ofthe leaves into a guide means 16,'whereupon a gathering assembly 17 isoperable to gather the leaves in successive, compacted bundles andtransfer the bundles sequentially from the guide means 16 to a leafdischarging position over a tie'ing table top 18.

The driving mechanism 23 (Fig. 7) for the machine 10 comprises a motor24 for driving a conventional reduction unit 26 from which power isavailable to the machine 10. Power for the conveyor unit 12, the leafaligning structure 13-, and the feeding unit 14 is taken off a pulley 27mounted on a reduction unit shaft 28, by means of a belt 29 leading fromthe pulley 27 to a clutch unit 30. Power for the gathering assembly 17is taken off the shaft 28 by means of an eccentrically mounted rod 31(Figs. 1 and 7) having a spring loaded pawl device 32 at the free endthereof (Figs. 3 and 4).

The frame structure includes two pairs of upright, transversely opposedlegs 33 and 34 (Fig. 1). The legs 33 are mounted at what shallhereinafter be termed the rear of the machine and have secured at theirtops a pair of horizontally disposed, transversely aligned supportmembers 36 (only one of which is shown). A transverse angle iron 37connects the legs 33 together adjacent the bottom portion thereof, and aU-shaped hanger unit 38 depends from the support members 36 spacedforwardly of the legs 33, the lower portion 39 of the hanger unit 38being horizontally level with the angle iron 37. An L- shaped support 35has one portion secured across the iron 37 and the portion 39 andcombines with these parts to support the motor 24 and the reduction unit26.

The support members 36 extend rearwardly and forwardly of the legs 33 tosupport the rear and the front, respectively, of the conveyor unit 12(Fig. 1), the front of the unit being located near what shallhereinafter be referred to as the front of the machine 10. Connected toand depending from the front ends of the support members 36 are a pairof supporting straps 40, the bottoms of which are secured to a pair ofhorizontally disposed, transversely oppo'sed frame members41 (only oneof which is shown). The rear ends of the frame members 41 are secured toupstanding portions 42 011131" one shown) of the hanger unit 38, and thefront ends 43 of the members 41 each support a side of the tieing table18.

Supporting the frame members 41 adjacent to the strap 40 (Fig. 1)connections, are the front pair of legs 34, similar to but of shorterlength than the rear pair of legs 33. A transverse angle iron 44 issecured across the base portions of the front legs 34. Anothertransverse member 46 (Fig. l) is secured between the frame members 41intermediate to the straps 40 and the portions 42. At the rear of theframe structure 11, a pair of obtuse angular members 47 (only oneshowing) are secured each from an upstanding hanger portion 42 across arear leg 33 and upwardly therefrom to the rear end of a frame member 36.a

The conveyor unit 12 is mounted over the laterally spaced supportmembers 36 (Fig. 1) and is comprised of a plurality of continuous beltsextending longitudinally of the machine from the rear to adjacent thefront.

A first belt 51 (Fig. 2) runs adjacent the leaf aligning structure 13,and the remaining belts 52, of which five are shown, are spacedlaterally from each other and from the belt 51. Three rolls 53, 54 and56 are rotatably mounted transversely on the machine for guiding thebelts 51 and 52. A rear roll 53 and an intermediate roll 54 are mountedon the rear ends and adjacent the front ends, respectively, of themembers 36, and the front roll 56 on the frame member 41, as by bearingstructures 57 (Fig. 2). For a purpose to appear later, the belt 51 istrained over the rear 53 and the intermediate 54 rolls only, whereas theother belts 52 are trained over all three rolls. The front roll 56,thus, has one end 55 spaced from the right side of the machine 10, asviewed in Fig. 2.

As indicated hereinbefore, power for the conveyor unit 12 is transmittedfrom the reduction unit 26 through a belt 29 to a pulley 58 in theclutchunit 30 (Figs. 7 and 8). Freely mounted on a clutch shaft 59, towhich is securely mounted the pulley 58, is a pulley 61, described morein detail hereinafter. A toothed, continuous belt 62 is drivably trainedabout the pulley 61 and is also drivably trained over the front andintermediate conveyo'r rolls 56 and 54 respectively. A pulley 63 (Fig.7) is mounted on the machine 10 for longitudinal movement thereof, andis adapted to engage the belt 62 so as to tighten the belt about therolls 54 and 56. By this arrangement, frictional drive from the belt 62is imparted to the rolls 54 and 56 and thus to the conveyor belts 51 and52. As the drive emanating from the reduction unit 26 iscounterclockwise as viewed in Figs. 1 and 7, the upper portions of theconveyor belts 51 and 52 move over the rolls 53, 54 and 56 from the rearof the machine to the front thereof.

The leaf aligning structure 13 is comprised primarily of a bangboard 66(Figs. 1 and 2) which extends longitudinally along one side of themachine and is spaced outwardly of the first belt 51 more at the rearthereof than at the front (Figs. 1 and 2). The board 66 is pivotallymounted at its rear end by a wrist pin structure 65 mounted on theadjacent support member 36 and is eccentrically mounted at its front end(Figs. 1 and 7). The eccentric mounting structure includes an upstandingpin 67 (Fig. 7) rotatably inserted in a bracket 68 affixed to thebangboard 66. The pin 67 is secured in an off-center manner to a cam 69attached at the top of a shaft 71, the other end of the shaft having abeveled gear 72 attached thereto. The gear 72 is in constant mesh withanother beveled gear 73 secured to one end of the clutch shaft 59 (Fig.8).

By this arrangement, upon operation of the motor 24, rotation of theclutch shaft 59 will result in a lateral oscillation of the bangboard 66with respect to the belt 51. Thus, as the leaves (not shown) are placedon the conveyor belts at the rear of the machine 10 with the butt endsextended slightly beyond the outer edge 74 (Fig. 2) of the first belt51, the oscillation of the bangboard 66 against the leaf butt ends willcause their being 4 aligned when they reach the front end of thebangboard prior to entering the feeding unit 14.

The feeding unit 14, the purpose of which is to provide a positive andcontrolled feeding of the tobacco leaves into the guide means 16,includes an overhead element 76 (Figs. 1 and 6) having a dependingflange 77 secured to the front of a support member 36 as by a bracketdevice 75, a forwardly extended downwardly curved portion 78 (Fig. 6),and a rearwardly extended upwardly curved portion 79. The front and rearportions 78 and 79 respectively are aligned with and extend over thearea between the side flange 77 and the innermost belt 52, which areawas left open by the shortened belt 51. In place of the belt 51, a lowerguide element 81 (Fig. 6) is extended in a manner parallel to theoverhead element 76 whereby an inclined feed slot or path 82 is formedtherebetween. The element 81 is secured to a flange 83 dependingtherefrom which is secured to a short transverse angle piece 84 (Fig. 6)extended inwardly of the adjacent support member 36.

To insure the aligned leaves retaining their positions while beingconveyed from the intermediate roll 54 to the front roll 56, and asimportantly, to provide for halting or immobilizing such leaf movementas desired, a toothed idler belt 86 (Fig. 5) is mounted above and isadapted to mesh with the top portion 87 of the drive belt 62. The idlerbelt 86 is mounted on a pair of longitudinally spaced idler pulleys 88and 89 rotatably secured at each end of a bar 91 which is attached to aflexible biasing shoulder member 92 secured to the top of the overheadguide element 76.

The flexible nature of the shoulder member 92 permits the idler belt 86to move away from a meshed engagement with the drive belt 62 upon theentry therebetween of tobacco leaves. However, the bias of the member 92provides a clamping engagement of the leaves between the two belts 86and 62, whereby the leaves are positively held when halted on or whenmoving along the inclined path 82 leading to the guide means 16.

The guide means 16, classifiable with the feeding unit 14 as it servesas that end of the feeding unit wherein the leaves are guided intoposition within the gathering assembly 17, includes an elongated strap93 (Fig. 6) having a forward end 94 extended forwardly beyond the frontportion 78 of the guide 76 to which the strap 93 is secured. The strap93 is of a flexible material and the end 94 is resiliently held in placeby a leaf spring 95 mounted thereover. Spaced vertically below the strap93 are a pair of laterally spaced guide rods 96 (Figs. '2 and 6), therear ends of which are secured by a horizontally disposed flange 97,integral with the flange 83, to the angle piece 84, as by a bolt 98. Thefront ends 99 of the rods 96 are reversibly curved to form a cradlespaced below the strap front end 94.

The gathering assembly 17 (Figs. 3 and 4), operable to receive, compactand then discharge bundles of leaves from the guide means 16, includes arotatable jaw unit 101, a packing unit 102, a driving unit 103, and aconveyor control unit 104.

The jaw unit 101 is comprised of a circular member 105 of X-like designhaving radially extended arms 106, whereby V-shaped open areas 107 areformed between each adjacent pair of arms 106. The member 105 issecurely mounted on a hub 108 which is secured to a shaft 109 extendingtransversely of the machine 10 and rotatably-mounted at each end on thefront end 43 (Fig. l) of a frame member 41, as by bearing structures 57(Fig.2). The location of the member 105 is such that it is rotatablebetween the forward cradle forming ends 990i the guide rods 96 (Fig. 1).The unit 101 is thus longitudinally aligned with the right side of themachine 10 as viewed in Fig. 2.

Thearms 106 are disposed in a common vertical plane and each arm 106 hasa flanged, horizontally disposed cover plate 111 formed at the radiallyouter end thereof,

each cover plate 111 in turn having a portion 112 extended partiallyover andad'jacent area 107. A semicircular jaw member 113 is fixedlysecured to each portion 112 on the upper surface thereof and extendsradially from the unit 101. A second jaw member 1 14 is pivotallysecured, as by a pin 115, to each portion 112 on the lower surfacethereof, whereby thelower jaw member 114 is adapted to be pivoted intocomplementary engagement with the upper jaw member 113 to form therebyan enclosed circle or pocket. It is noted that the pairs. of jaw membersare circumferentially arranged on the unit 101.

To hold the lower jaw members 114 in a normally open position relativeto the upper jaw members 113, a resilient band 116 is strung about aroller 117 rotatably mounted on each lower jaw member 114, thus pivotingeach jaw 114 away from its mating jaw 113 and into contacting engagementwith a shoulder 118 formed on the adjacent arms 106 (Fig. 3).

A cam member 119 (Figs. 1, 3 and 4), having a portion 121 of its outersurface curved in an arcuate manner, is mounted on the frame member 41so as to be spaced laterally outwardly fromthe member 105 of the jawunit 101 and at the rear end thereof adjacent the guide rods 96. Thearrangement is such that upon rotation of the jaw unit 101 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, as an open pairof jaw members start to move from a 3 oclock position (Fig. 3), thelower movable jaw member 114 is moved into a closed relation with itsmating jaw member 113, due to the roller 117 of the jaw 114- rollingalong the surface portion 121 of the cam member 119. The portion 121 isof a peripheral extent such that the jaws 113 and 114 are in a closedrelation at least until they have moved through the 12 oclock zone andare on a counterclockwise downward swing.

The packing unit 102, which provides the means by which the leaves arepacked into each pair of jaw members as they are in a registeredposition relative to the cradle forming guide rods 96, includes aresilient, elongated packing finger 122 (Figs. 1, 3 and 7) mounted so asto rotate between the guide rod ends 99. The finger 122 is secured atits. inner end to a projection 123 extended radially from a pulley 126mounted on a shaft 124 and spaced outwardly from a pocket aligned withthe guide rod ends 99 (Fig. 3). It is noted that the shaft 124 isparallel with the shaft 109 of the gathering assembly 17. As the shaft124 is inserted through and driven by the front roll 56, the pulley 126is mounted loosely on the shaft 124 for relative movement therewith. Abelt 127 is trained about the pulley .126 and about a pulley 128secured. to the clutch shaft 59 (Fig. 8.). The arrangement is such thatthe packing finger 122 will rotate continuously during operation of themotor 24 against the lip of the, lower jaw member 114 so as to pack anyleaves therein into a compact bundle.

Drive for the jaw unit 101, transmitted to it by the drive shaft 109emanates directly at the driving unit 103. As mentioned. hereinbefore,the pawl device 32 is mounted to the rod 31 (Figs. 7 and 3) which isreciprocably oscillated by rotation of the reduction unit shaft 28. Thepawl. device 32-, -as.a part of the driving unit 103, includes a rockarm 129 (Fig. 3), rotatably mounted on a shaft 131 extended between, andmounted on the frame members 41 (Figs. 1 and 2). One end of the rock arm129 is pivotally secured, to the outer end of the rod 31 (Fig. 3). andthe other end is pivotally secured to an end, of a pawl finger 132.

A spring 133 is secured intermediate the finger 132 and the lower memberof the rock arm 129 to bias the pawl finger 132 at a predeterminedangular position relative to the rock arm 129. The finger has a slightlydepending pointed end- 134 in constant contact with the outertoothedsurfaceof a ratchet wheel 136.

1 The ratchet wheel 136: (Fig. 2). is of relatively narrow width, ismounted on the shaft 109 for rotation therewith directly adjacent theinner side of the jaw unit 101, and has four series 137 of teeth formedon the outer periph eral surface thereof to match. the four jaw membergroups (Figs. 3 and 4).. Each adjacent pair of teeth series 137 areseparated by an elongated land 138, whereby upon engagement of the pawlfinger end- 134 on the land 138, the reciprocation of the pawl finger132 is ineffective.- to rotate the wheel 136.

An additional or secondary pawl device for'the ratchet wheel 136includes a bar 139 (Figs. 2 and 4) pivotally secured at one end to theshaft 109 on the inner side of the wheel 136 and having a pawl 141secured'at the other end, one end of the pawl 141 being continuallyengageable with the teeth 137. The upper end of a rod 1 42 (Figs. 1 and3) is also pivotally engaged to the outer end of the bar 139 and dependsto the base of the machine 10 through a support 143 secured to the frontangle iron 44 to a foot pedal 144, which is pivotally secured at one endto the angle iron 44. A spring 146 is placed about the rod 142 and isinserted between the support 143 and a stop member 147 secured to therod 142 adjacent the bottom thereof so as to normally maintain the rod142 and thus the pawl 141 in an upwardly extended position.

Foot pressure on the pedal 144 will depress the rod 142 and force thebar 139 and the pawl 141 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed inFig. 3, the engagement of the pawl 141 with a ratchet wheel toothforcing the wheel 136 to rotate in a like direction. When the wheel 136is being rotated by the primary pawl device 32, the pawl 141 issufficiently resilient, due to the spring biased rod 142, so as not toimpede the counterclockwise rotation of the wheel 136.

Mounted securely on the shaft 109 immediately adjacent the inner side ofthe ratchet wheel 136, is a cam wheel 148 (Figs. 2 and 3) of a diameterand width similar to the ratchet wheel 136. The cam wheel 148 has fourcammed surfaces or cams 149 and four depressions 151 alternately formedon the outer peripheral surface thereof. For operative engagement withthe cams and depressions, a pivot arm 152 is provided. The arm .152 is,piv-. otally mounted on the shaft 131 and has a roller 1'53. freelymounted on one forked end 155 for engaging con-. tact with the cam wheel148. The other end 158 of the pivot arm 152 is pivotally secured to arod 154 (Figs. 3, 5 and 8) which extends upwardly and is connected atits upper end to a bell crank 156 (Fig. 8), a part of the clutch unit30.

It should be noted. that a friction brake unit 157 (Figs. 1 and 2) of aconventional type is mounted on the outer end of the shaft 109. Asufficient brake on the shaft 109 is continually applied to prevent thedriving unit 103-, the jaw unit 101 and the conveyor control unit 104from over-riding or rotating after the pawl finger end 134 has. rotatedthe wheel 136 through a series of teeth 137 and has contacted land 138(Fig. 3).

The clutch unit 30 (Figs. 7 and 8) is classified as of the conveyorcontrol unit 104 and includes the aforementioned drive shaft 59 on whichare securely mounted in spaced relation, the clutch pulley 58 forreceiving drivefrom the reduction unit 26, the pulley 128 for trans'miteting continuous drive to the packing finger 122, and the bevel gear 73for transmitting drive to the leaf aligning structure 13.

Before describing the clutch unit 30 further, it is best to define herethe role of that unit. As touched on lightly hereinbefore, it isdesirable for aninterval of time to" stop the rotation of the rotatablejaw unit 101 when apair of jaw members 113 and 114 are in an open, leafreceiving position relative to the guide rod ends 99 (Fig. 3), ata leafloading station. During this interval of time, the feeding unit 14v andthe packing unit 102 are operating; and cooperate to form a bundle ofleavesin the openi pocket at the leaf receiving position.

' To immobilize the jaw unit 101, the driving unit 103 and the jaw unit101 are synchronized so that when each jaw member unit 113 and 114 arein the loading or leaf receiving position, the pawl finger 132 isreciprocating on a land 138 and is thus inoperable to advance theratchet wheel 136, and thus the shaft 109 and the jaw unit 101.Subsequently, by manual operation of the pawl 141 (Fig. 3), whereby theratchet wheel 136 is reciprocated sufficiently for the constantlyreciprocating end 134 of the pawl finger 132 to engage the first toothof a series of teeth 137 next adjacent the particular land 138, theshaft 109 and the jaw unit 101 are simultaneously rotated until anotherpair of jaws are at the loading station, the previously loaded pair ofjaw members having been simultaneously rotated to an unloading ordischarging station or position relative to the table top 18 (Fig. 1).

It is apparent, that whereas during the period of time when movement ofthe jaw unit 101 is sequentially rotating each pair of jaw members 113and 114 from a loading station to an unloading station it is necessarythat the conveyor belts 51 and 52 and the feeding unit 14 be halted, itis also necessary that the conveyor belts 51 and 52 are moving and thefeeding unit 14 be operating during the period of time when the jaw unit101 is halted, so that leaves will be moved in an open pocket andcompacted therein. Thus, the accomplishment of a synchronized movementof the belts 51 and 52 and the conveyor belt 62 with a non-rotation ofthe jaw unit 101, and vice versa, is the main purpose of the clutch unit30, in cooperation with the conveyor control unit 104.

The conveyor control unit 104 noted hereinbefore, includes the cam wheel148 mounted on the shaft 109 (Figs. 3 and 4) in synchronization with theratchet wheel 136, so that when the wheel 136 is being rotated by thepawl device 32 so as to move the jaw unit 101, the roller 153 (Fig. 4) nthe pivot arm 152 is in contact with a cam 149 on the cam wheel 148. Bythus raising the roller end of the pivot arm 152, as compared to theposition of the arm 152 when the roller 153 is riding in a depression151, the end 158 of the arm causes the rod 154 and the clutch bell crank156 to be depressed, whereupon the movable parts of the clutch unit 30assume positions best shown in Fig. 8, wherein the drive to the conveyorunit 12 from the reduction unit 26 is disconnected, the clutch thusbeing disengaged.

Such disconnection is provided by the pulley 61 for the conveyor drivebelt 62 being separated from a meshed engagement with a clutch drum 159(Fig. 8) mounted for longitudinal movement on the clutch shaft 59. Thedrum 159 is keyed to the shaft 59 for continuous rotation irrespectiveof its longitudinal position thereon. A spring 160, inserted over theshaft 59 and between the pulley 61 and the drum 159 tends to maintainthese two elements in a separated, nonengaging position. An arm 161'(Fig. 8), depending from a sleeve 162, is engaged in a slot 163provided therefor in the drum 159, the sleeve 162 being mounted forlongitudinal movement on a rod 164. The rod 164 is horizontallysuspended from a bracket 167, secured to the member 46 (Fig. 6), by apair of supports 166, spaced transversely of the machine 10. At theinner end 168 of the bracket 167, a pair of elements 169 depend inspaced relation to form a support for a pin 171 to which the bell crank156 is attached.

The bell crank 156 has a leg 172 (Fig. 8) integral therewith, which legdepends from the pivot pin 171 connection of the bell crank 156 and ispivotally connected to a member 173. The member 173 extends looselythrough the adjacent support 166 (Fig. 8) and over a portion of the rod164 so as to contact the sleeve 162. A spring 174 is inserted over therod 164 and between the sleeve 162 and support 166 oppositely of themember 173 so as to bias the sleeve 162 against the member 173. As bestviewed in Figs. 7 and 8, the clutch drum 159 is disengaged fiom thepulley 61, whereby no drive is imparted to the conveyorunit 12 and tothe feeding unit 14, when the pivot arm roller 153 is riding upon a cam149 on'the cam wheel'148. During this interval of time, the jaw unit 101is being rotated.

Conversely, as best viewed in Figs. 3 and 8, when the pivot arm rollerrides in a depression 151 on the cam wheel, during which time the jawunit is'halted, the clutch drum 159 and the conveyor pulley 61 areengaged, whereupon drive is being transmitted to the conveyor unit 12and to the feeding unit 14. The engagement occurs by the resultingraising of the end 158 of the pivot arm 152 pivoting the bell crank leg172 clockwise so as to move the clutch member 173 away from a contactingengagement with the sleeve 162. The spring 174 then overcomes theopposed force of the spring and forces the clutch drum 159, via thesleeve 162, into a meshing engagement with the conveyor pulley 61.

Thus, by mounting the cam wheel 148 on the shaft 109 whereby the wheel148 will rotate at a rate equal to that of the ratchet wheel, by havingthe wheels 136 and 148 of substantially equal diameters, and by havingthe arcuate length of a series 137 of teeth substantially equal to thearcuate length of a cam 149, it is apparent that during each period oftime the ratchet wheel 136 is rotated, the pivot arm roller 153 will betraveling over a cam 149 and will thus be in a raised position to efiecta disengagement of the conveyor unit pulley wheel 61 from thecontinuously rotating clutch drum 159, thus halting the conveyor unitmovement. Likewise, whenever the pointed end 134 of the pawl finger 132is reciprocated over a land 138 so as to be inefiective relative torotation of the ratchet wheel 136, the pivot arm roller 153 will beriding in a depression 151 to effect an engagement of the wheel 61 andthe drum 159 and a consequent movement of the conveyor belts 62, 51 and52.

An X-shaped member 176 is mounted for rotation on the drive shaft 109and extends longitudinally of the machine 10 between the front of thebelts 52 and the rear of the table top 18. The member 176 also extendstransversely of the machine 10 between the left side, as viewed in Fig.2, and the cam wheel 148. The member 176 has four semicircularly curved,concave sides 177, each adjacent pair of sides being separated by acrown 178. Each side 177 is transversely aligned with a pair of jawmembers 113 and 114, and being mounted for rotation upon the shaft 109,rotates simultaneously with rotation of the jaw unit 101.

In the operation of the machine, power emanating from the motor 24 istransmitted at a reduced rate from the reduction unit 26 to the shaft 28(Fig. 7). Drive from the shaft 28 is imparted via the rod 31 to the pawldevice 32 (Fig. 3) which acts upon the ratchet wheel 136 until the land138 is rotated beneath the pawl finger end 134. Atthis time, the jawunit 101 has been rotated by the shaft 109 until a pair of jaw members113 and 114 are at a position (Fig. 3) where the movable jaw member 114is openly spaced from the stationary jaw member 113, thus forming, withthe guide rod ends 99, an open pocket for receiving leaves therein.Simultaneously, the cam wheel 148 has been rotated by the shaft 109 to aposition where the pivot arm roller 153 is in a depression 151 and theclutch drum 159 and conveyor pulley wheel 61 are engaged.

Drive has also been imparted from the reduction unit shaft 28 to theclutch pulley 58 whereby the clutch shaft 59 (Fig. 8) is rotating. Thisrotational drive is taken from the shaft 29 by the pulley 1-28 to applya continuous rotation to the flexible packing finger 122 (Fig. 7), bythe bevel gear 73 to apply a continuous oscillation to the bangboard 66,and by the wheel 61, with the clutch drum 159, to rotate the conveyorbelts 51 and 52 via the belt 62 and the rolls 54 and 56. The feedingunit idler belt 86 is also being rotated by the frictional drive of theupper portion 87 of the belt 62 (Fig. 5).

At this stage of operation, tobacco leaves are placed on the belts 51and 52 at the rear of the machine 10 with their butt ends extendedslightly beyond the edge 74 (Fig. 2 of the first belt 51 adjacent therear end-of the bangboard. 66. As the leaves are moved forward on and bythe belts, the oscillation of the bangboard continuously aligns theirbutt ends. When they reach the feeding unit 14- (Fig. 1-), theleaves aregrabbed between the idler belt 86 and the drive belt 62 (Fig. 5) andmoved down the inclined path 82 (Fig. 6) between the overhead and thelower guide elements 76 and 81, respectively, until they are nestled inthe cradle formed by the guide rods 96 (Fig. 3). The non-aligned ends ofthe leaves rest in the bed formed by the curved side 177 of the member176 in approximate transverse alignment with the butt ends.

As the leaves are fed from the feeding unit 14 into the guide means 16and thus into the open pocket, the base of which is the stationary jaw113', the packing finger 122 is continually rotating, in acounterclockwise manner as viewed in Fig. 3, to pack the leaves in acompact bundle in the open pocket. When the operator of the machine hasdetermined that the desired size of a bundle has been formed, hedepresses the foot pedal 144 to thus actuate the secondary pawl 141(Fig. 3) and rotate the rachet wheel 136 to a point where the pawlfinger 132 engages a tooth of an adjacent series of teeth 137 (Fig. 4).Drive to the conveyor unit '12 and the feeding unit 14 is thenimmediately stopped by the operation of the conveyor control unit 104defined herein before. The jaw unit 101 is then rotated one fullquarter, whereby the pocket holding the leaves is gradually closed as itis rotated, due to the coaction of the lower movable jaw member 114 withthe surface 121 of the cam member 119 (Fig. 4). The leaves are thusarcuately carried in the closed pocket and by the curved side 177 untilthey are discharged onto the table top 18 (Fig. 1). Due to the curvatureof the side 177 of the member 176, the free ends of the leaves are heldin approximate transverse alignment with the closely held butt ends. Theopening of the pocket occurs by virtue of the tension of the spring 116acting on the lower jaw member 114, when the jaw member 114 has passedbeyond the cam member 119.

Simultaneously with the movement of the leaf-loaded pocket from thereceiving station to the discharging station, another pair of jawmembers 113 and 114 has been moved into place at the receiving stationrelative to the guide rods 96.

It is seen, then, that the method disclosed herein of bunching orbundling tobacco leaves includes automatically conveying the leaves in abutt end aligned formation to a feeding mechanism from whence the leavesare fed to one of a plurality of pockets wherein the leaves arecompacted in a bundle, the pockets being automatically opened to receivethe leaves and closed thereabout during semi-automatic movement of thepockets in sequence from leaf receiving stations to leaf dischargingstations.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferredembodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be solimited, since changes can be made therein which are within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for bundling tobacco leaves comprising a main frame,conveyor means on said frame for receiving tobacco leaves transverselythereof such that the butt ends of said leaves are at one side of saidconveyor means, a rotatable unit on said frame located opposite one endof said conveyor means and at said one side thereof, means supportingsaid rotatable unit for rotation about a horizontal axis extendedtransversely of said conveyor means, a semi-circular movable jaw and asemi-circular stationary jaw on said rotatable unit, with saidstationary jaw being fixed on said unit and extended radially therefrom,and said movable jaw being movable into and out of a complementaryclosing position with said stationary jaw, means for rotating said unitto loading and unloading positions for said jaws, with said jaws twopositions therefor, means for feeding the'butt oiick of said leavesfromsaid conveyor means into 'saidstdf tionary jaw when said unit is ina loading position, for moving said movable jaw into the closingposition with said stationary jaw and for maintaining said mov able jawin said closing position concurrently with rota" tion of said jaws fromsaid loading position to said unloading position therefor, and means forrendering said feeding means inoperative on rotation of said unitbetween said two positions therefor. 1

2. A machine for bundling tobacco leaves comprising a frame structure, arotatable unit mounted on said frame structure, a series ofcircumferentially spaced pocket forming structures for receiving thebutt ends of tobacco leaves, radially extended from said unit, includinga stationary pocket closing means on said unit for each of said pocketforming structures and a movable pocket closing means on said unit foreach of said pocket forming structures, means for successively rotatingsaid unit to positions defining leaf receiving and discharging stationsfor said pocket forming structures, means for holding said movablepocket closing means spaced from said stationary pocket closing meansout of a pocket closing position at said receiving and dischargingstations and for moving and maintaining said pocket closing means incomplementary engagement with said stationary pocket closing means onrotation of said unit between said receiving and discharging stations,means for feeding the butt ends of tobacco leaves into one of the pocketforming structures at a leaf receiving position therefor, and means forrendering said feeding means inoperative when said unit is rotatedbetween said leaf receiving and discharging stations.

3. A machine for bundling tobacco leaves comprising a frame structure, arotatable jaw unit rotatably supported on said structure, said unithaving a pocket forming structure mounted thereon for receiving the buttends of tobacco leaves, means on said frame structure for feeding thebutt ends of tobacco leaves .into said pocket, forming structure;rotatable means for packing together the butt ends of the tobacco leavesin said pocket forming structure concurrently with their receptiontherein, means for rotating said jaw unit to move said pocket formingstructure from a leaf receiving position to a leaf discharge position,means operable in response to a rotation of said unit for closing saidpocket forming structure during its movement from a leaf receivingposition to a leaf discharge position, and means for immobilizing saidfeeding means during movement of said pocket forming structure from aleaf receiving position to a leaf discharge position.

4. In a machine for bundling tobacco leaves including a frame structure,a rotatable unit rotatably mounted on said frame structure and having aseries of circumferentially spaced closable pocket structures radiallyextended therefrom, means for rotating said unit to provide for thesuccessive movement of said pocket structures to leaf receiving anddischarge positions therefor, a conveyor means on said frame structurefor feeding the butt ends of leaves into one of the pocket structures ata leaf receiving position therefor, means for compacting the butt endsof leaves within said one pocket structure concurrently tvith theirreception in said one pocket structure from said conveyor means andincluding a member rotatably supported on said frame structure forrotation about an axis parallel with the axis of rotation of saidrotatable unit, with said rotatable member being spaced outwardly fromsaid one pocket structure in a leaf receiving position, a flexiblepacking finger extended outwardly from and mounted on said rotatablemember and of a length to extend across said one pocket structure in aleaf receiving position, whereby said finger strikes across said onepocket structure on rotation of said rotatable member to compacttogether the butt ends of leaves being out of the closing position whensaid unit is in said 76 therein, means mounted on and responsive inoperation to 11 rotation of said rotatable unit for closing said pocketstructures during movement thereof hour the leaf receiving to the leafdischarge position, and means for immobilizing said feeding means whensaid pocket structures are being moved from the leaf receiving positionto the 6 leaf discharge position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 12Reiniger May 1, 1866 Scaramanga July 10, 1894 Rosenberg Apr. 30, 1940Wheeler Aug. 11, 1942 Hurst Feb. 13, 1951 Benning Feb. 5, 1957 Benm'ngOct. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland June 1, 1945

